Mimi's Boutique and Intimates
Working in retail, Margaret Gay, owner of Mimi’s Boutique and Intimates knows all too well the issues that come with paper overload. “In my business, you are inundated with paper every day. It takes over, and before you know it, you have piles and piles of storage boxes.”
Margaret initially heard about SmartVault from a business colleague who told her all about scanning documents and working in an all-digital, paperless environment.
“Being an accountant myself, I’m ultra-organized and strive for consistency across my business. When I visited my colleague’s office, he showed me how all documents are scanned and filed in SmartVault…then every sheet of paper is immediately shredded—no exceptions. While there, I noticed that there was literally not a single piece of paper in sight, and no boxes piled in the corner. I was sold immediately.”
Running two boutiques, one in Georgia and one in Florida, means double the amount of paper piling up, not to mention the constant influx and routing of invoices.
“There was no consistent way to keep up with invoices,” Margaret explained. “Before SmartVault, vendors typically sent invoices to the Georgia location, even if it was for merchandise for the Florida store. Getting invoices in the right location for filing was tedious and heightened the risk of losing paperwork.”
These issues were resolved when Margaret adopted SmartVault. The system set her up for turnkey online document storage and secure file sharing. “I just love the system,” Margaret stated. “It appeals to my highly detail-oriented side. Now all files are online and organized the way I want them.”
Today, Margaret has also equipped her offices with Fujitsu ScanSnap scanners and works daily in SmartVault. “The ScanSnap integration with SmartVault is so fast… way faster than manually filing paperwork. Now, both my store managers follow the same process; they scan in all receipts and invoices daily and then shred the paper.”
A Hole-in-One for Paperless Pioneers
A ‘Superwoman’ in her own right, not only does Margaret manage her own businesses, but she also handles all bookkeeping for her son, a professional golfer on the PGA Tour. Since joining the Tour, Margaret’s son has relied on his mother to handle all of his back office accounting tasks.
“As soon as I discovered the value of SmartVault, I got my son to use the system immediately,” Margaret said. “He now has his own Vault so we can easily exchange docs online and I can efficiently handle his accounting. It’s so much more streamlined now.”
Margaret is also spreading the word about SmartVault among other business owners, including her CPA. “My CPA is not on SmartVault currently, but I plan to convert him. It would certainly make it easier if I could exchange documents with him online. I plan on showing him the system soon, and explaining how much easier it would be to work in the cloud with all of his clients.”
Efficiency is certainly a big part of why Margaret has enthusiastically promoted SmartVault. Another reason is the system’s extreme ease of use.
“My sister helps manage my Georgia store, and she’s not very technologically savvy, but even she can navigate the system, which is another reason I love SmartVault. She was literally up and running the same day I showed her the system,” Margaret explained.
Margaret indicated that she plans to continue to promote SmartVault to anyone and everyone she believes can benefit from the solution. “I can’t imagine that any small business can operate efficiently if they are still dealing with volumes of paper…especially in retail.”
Final Words…
Margaret has successfully, and happily, made the transition from a paper-full office to a totally paperless office environment. And with plans to open a third boutique this year, it’s a good thing she did—SmartVault has put her in a prime position for growth.
“With another store opening on the horizon, I’m so glad that I am now on SmartVault. The process is already in place and can easily be applied to the next store.”
Overall, making the move to online document storage and secure file sharing has saved Margaret a tremendous amount of time, space, and frustration. “We are just so much more efficient now. SmartVault has truly saved me hundreds of hours in manual tasks. And I can’t tell you how happy I am to get rid of so many storage boxes.”
Margaret Gay continues to be a spokesperson for SmartVault, promoting its exceptional value among her business peers. “I just tell them the truth…I could not live without my SmartVault!”
